Antennas integrated with solar arrays for space vehicle applications

Abstract

As space vehicles become smaller, real estate for allocating the vehicles' instruments and components becomes a premium quantity. On the other hand, almost all space vehicles require at least one large-aperture solar array and one large-aperture telecommunication antenna in order to maintain an adequate supply of power and a robust communication link. One solution to reduce the burden of these two large apertures an the space vehicles is to combine these two structures. This paper presents the results of two antenna/solar array integration. In both designs, the printed microstrip radiator, due to its small size and low profile, was selected as the element for the antenna array to be integrated with the solar array. The first antenna/solar array integration presented uses a low-gain UHF crossed-slot microstrip radiator for future Mars rover application. The second integration uses a high-gain microstrip reflectarray at X-band for future deep-space telecommunication application.